The play (performed at the Grand Theatre on Thursday, Friday and Saturday July 17-19) focused on what would happen if a group of people were holed-up inside the theatre as a devastating disaster strikes the outside world. 100% improvised by the actors and with different plot developments on each night, SAFE? also polarised opinion among our four reviewers, KERRY LOCKLEY, CANDICE STUCHBURY,
LAUREN HOLDEN and MICHAEL NUNN.

* Kerry Lockley (attended Thursday night's performance)
"I've never actually been to a play before, just a pantomime, but I thought it was really good.

I really enjoyed it when all the gravel and lights came down.
They scared me because I was sat right near the door when they came running in from the back of the theatre, which was really effective.

I felt uncomfortable about the autistic character in the play and the way she was killed at the end was a little controversial.

But I liked that there were lots of different characters and the main character who recited Shakespeare at the beginning was brilliant.

The plot was a little slow to start but I soon got to grips with the story. I also think it's really good that it was improvised."

* Candice Stuchbury (attended Thursday night's performance)
"I've never been to anything like this before so I didn't really know what to expect, but because of the ads we'd seen in the paper we were really curious.

It was good but it's not my type of thing. I enjoyed it but there were parts when it was meant to be serious and I was just bursting out laughing.

I didn't realise the play had different endings and I'm really impressed it wasn't scripted. On Thursday night it ended with one of the characters going mad after being infected by the virus.

The bit where the stage blew up was really good but I didn't like the autistic character. I found her quite annoying to be honest.
I've seen better acting but in all, I did enjoy it – even if I didn't take it as seriously as I was supposed to."

* Lauren Holden (attended Friday night's performance)
"If I'm honest, I was expecting a little more from this production.
Given the big advertising campaign surrounding SAFE? and previous positive feedback about After Dark's productions I was looking forward to a night at the theatre.

Writer Ben Muir should definitely be credited for an original plotline and the cast for an improvised performance, but I've seen better acting and most of the characters were irritating.

Special effects were brilliant, however, and thumbs up to After Dark for a different ending every night.

But the play was often over-acted and a little pretentious.
Sorry After Dark, this really didn't do it for me. But that won't put me off seeing the next one."

* Michael Nunn (attended Saturday night's performance)
"A dramatic tour-de-force and a complete triumph. From the moment the audience entered the auditorium, the spooky tension and feeling of impending doom were built-up even before the curtain went up. News bulletins reporting the spread of a suspected virus – and officialdom's craven denials that anything was amiss – came menacingly over the speakers.

The play's dialogue was cracking and the plot's twists and turns were well used to vary the dramatic pace.

This was all the more remarkable as the dialogue had been improvised.

Much credit, then, not only to After Dark's director Ben Muir, who devised the piece, but to each and every one of the cast whose delivery was crystal clear – even without the Grand's ubiquitous and unnecessary microphones.

Movement, blocking and physical interaction were all of a high order too. But perhaps the strongest praise should go to the dramatic and stunning end of the first act, when the theatre is bombed by the military and collapses in a heap before our very eyes.

Muir's finely-crafted drama shows a wide range of theatrical and literary influences. 'Hell is other people' wrote Sartre, in his chilling study of life beyond death, and SAFE? demonstrated that, when the chips are really down and people are panicking, number one really does comes first and the rest of the world can go to the wall.

So with this play that is at once part psychological thriller, part political satire (for the unspecified virus, read bird flu or BSE), part comedy and part morality play, Muir has brought off a real triumph.

The cast, crew and special effects gang from After Dark have done both him and themselves proud."